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NFL Playoffs 2017: Overtime Rules, Bracket and Postseason Format
- Updated: January 7, 2017
The first game on the NFL playoff schedule Saturday is the one that probably has the least flash and intrigue of the four on the schedule.
As a matter of fact, the Wild Card game between the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Texans might as well be the “Pity Bowl,” because both teams could feel sorry for themselves as they limp into the playoffs.
The Raiders were having a brilliant season as they got ready to play in Week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts. They would win that game, but they suffered a huge blow when quarterback Derek Carr broke his fibula.
Backup quarterback Matt McGloin injured his trapezius in the finale against the Denver Broncos, and rookie quarterback Connor Cook will make his first start in this playoff game.
Cook, who was a star at Michigan State, was drafted in the fourth round last spring. He didn’t play at all this year until he came on in relief of McGloin and completed 14 of 21 passes against the Broncos.
The pressure on a rookie quarterback making his first start normally shouldn’t be too great, but Cook will get no benefit of the doubt. It’s win or go home in the playoffs, and he has to figure out a way to get the Raiders a victory.
The Texans are in the same position they were a year ago, when they made the playoffs as the AFC South winners and hosted an AFC West team in the Wild Card round. That did not go well for them, as they dropped a 30-0 decision at home to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Texans will try to avoid that fate with Brock Osweiler at quarterback. They had signed Osweiler during the offseason and had high hopes that he would become the elite quarterback the franchise has needed for years.
But Osweiler could not rise to the occasion and was replaced by Tom Savage late in the season. However, Savage suffered a concussion in Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans, so that means the Texans must turn back to Osweiler for this game.
While neither team’s quarterback situation is ideal, it appears the Raiders may be in …
